BUSY

Yup. Busy. Busy with the start up of a new program year at the church. Today after working at M church it's off to the L church for a Finance meeting at 6 pm and leading Bible Study at 7 pm. A very long day.
  Tomorrow at L church have to pick hymns, write sermon and children's sermon, make a visit.
  This weekend is the 'thankless wedding". A non-member of an independent Baptist Church who are very conservative - wife to obey husband. The young gal is kind ditzy. She can't make a decision without her family or groom's family. She wanted her pastor to marry them. She is awed by the cathedral church setting and needed a church large enough to accommodate all invited (their church is too small). Although we have a great pipe organ that fills the sanctuary, she is merely having the piano with a couple classical pieces, a hymn, and a couple of Disney love songs! (ughhh) I am playing gracious host. I will welcome, give a statement, the prayer of the day and give the promise of the gathered congregation - that they will support this couple. Then I can sit and watch it all proceed.
I don't believe there's a message - she said she just wanted this hymn sung. They will do a Ukranian hand tie instead of lighting a unity candle (which is ok). But the whole ceremony is weirdly put together and it will be fascinating to watch unfold. I will open the church an hour before the wedding at 1 pm, get everything ready, be host and part wedding planner. The service is at 2 pm, our Sat. evening worship service is at 5 pm and so I will be there the whole time and get things set up for our worship service to follow. The reception will be in the social hall, so parking will be at a premium for our worshippers. I don't know who's locking up, but I will be out of the church at the end of cleaning up for worship. That's 5 hours of my time, plus 2 hours Friday for the rehearsal. I am only part time.
   I am not looking forward to this wedding.
   Oh, and the latest is this: the family wants into the church Friday at 9 am to decorate the church,
probably Social Hall as well as Sanctuary - which is ok because after rehearsal we will be free and clear to go.
  However the twist is: they want to be at the church Sat. at 7:15 am to do hair, make-up, and get
dressed. Did I mention the wedding is at 2 pm? I don't know, but usually it's an hour for hair and
1/2 hour for make-up and 1/2 hour to dress. Or am I unrealistic? Whatever are they going to do for
6 hours? Wash their hair in the church bathrooms? Who wants to lug all that stuff to the church
and remember to clean it all up and remove it? I don't want our ladies bathroom filled with junk
for our worship service. As it is, they are not using the downstairs ladies bathroom with large area
and mirrors. They are using the parlor with no mirrors, how will the bride check herself? They
blew off our suggestion of downstairs and will use the parlor. The bride is quite a ditz.
    The reception should be over and all cleaned out by 9:30 pm.
   I don't think the church is getting compensated for an entire day of facilities usage, yes for
a few hours, but this exceeds normalcy on so many levels.
   The lighting in the bathrooms isn't even that good for make-up. Maybe they're bringing in their
own lighted mirrors. I just don't see how this will happen and only a couple of gals can be in front of the bathroom mirror at a time. I certainly would want to do all that in the comfort of my own home or hotel room and not a squirrely mess in a church bathroom.
    I am not looking forward to this wedding.
   Fortunately, the church secretary is here on Friday(my one day off) and will open at 7:15 am Sat.
and lock up at 9:30 pm Sat.
   If I never do another non-member wedding again before I retire, it would be a good and wonderful
thing. They are the most thankless, time-sucking ministry I do, and even worse, when their own
clergy is a part of it, and I am just a gracious host, running around making sure the sound is on, and
everything is working, etc.
   I wish it were next week and this entire fiasco was over. Pray that I may be gracious and not roll my eyes too much or noticeably during the service.